Reflecting on his primary loss today downtown, Republican Rick Lazio said that voters wanted to send a message in selecting Carl Paladino.

“Overwhelmingly the situation that played out was going to play out. I think there is a big upstate, downstate issue at play, and a lot of resentment in different parts of the upstate areas about downstate control and the fact that many downstate political leaders are rightfully blamed for a chokehold on the economy in Western New York in particular and upstate in general and I think a lot of people seem as though they want to send a message.”

“I’ve had conversations with Mr. Paladino over the last week and will be moving in that direction,” Long told GNS’s Nick Reisman this morning. “I think Carl and I have a clear understanding. I think we can close the book and move forward.”

Politicians are never as accessible to the media as they are when they’re running for office, usually.

This year, reporters and editors are taking nothing for granted.

We here at the D&C have been trying to get full-length studio photos of the gubernatorial candidates for months. We’ve been willing to drive to other counties, wherever they are, so we can set up a mini-studio, get them there for 40 seconds, and get out. We were able to do this with Rick Lazio while he was in town a few weeks back. Trying to get Andrew Cuomo to do it has been impossible. We have tried numerous times when he’s been in town, offered to travel, nothing. We’re not even asking him about how exactly he’s going to reduce the size of government. We want to take his picture. Witness our latest attempt here. Prior to last week’s fiasco, we had a photographer on the way to Canandaigua for an event Cuomo would be at, but an editor called him back after the Cuomo people told him it wouldn’t happen.

Rick Lazio, the subject of an investigative report from the Village Voice’s Wayne Barrett, which connects him to a federal investigation into the overseer of federal pension funds and Lazio’s former employer, JP Morgan, said today in Rochester that he’s still the man to clean up Albany. He quickly diverted attention to his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, who attended a fundraiser last week for Rep. Charles Rangel, who is the subject of a House ethics investigation.

Rick Lazio and Greg Edwards toured a small business with fellow Republicans in Greece today, and steered clear of attacking Mayor Bob Duffy.

Lazio and Edwards are running mates in contention for the state’s highest office, and they talked about making the state more friendly to small businesses, like Optimation, where they spoke to workers and reporters.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy won’t be running a primary against Rick Lazio after all. Levy couldn’t get enough support from GOP convention delegates, and Lazio prevailed against Republicans M. Myers Mermel and Carl Paladino. Paladino, a Buffalo real estate developer, is planning to pass petitions to get on the ballot. Levy, as a Democrat, can’t get on a Republican ballot that way.

Lazio was introduced by Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, who said: “No matter what Rick’s opponents like to say about being ‘outsiders,’ New Yorkers know that failed Democrat leadership is part of the problem, not the solution.”

Yesterday, state GOP Chairman Ed Cox was in town, explaining why he thinks Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy would be a great candidate for governor.

The problem is, Levy won’t be a Republican until after the election, his campaign largely hasn’t taken off (has he visited Rochester yet? If he has, he hasn’t spoken to any reporters, that I’m aware of, and I don’t think he’s met any voters here, either). Cox is hoping that people who are supporting Rick Lazio at the GOP convention in a week and a half also will allow Levy on the ballot.

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Contributors

Jon Campbell has been covering government and politics for the Gannett Albany Bureau since May 2011. Previously, he covered health and environmental issues for the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., with a focus on natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale.

Joseph Spector is Gannett Albany Bureau chief and has covered New York politics and government since 2002. He was the political reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle and has since joined the Albany Bureau, covering state government for all of Gannett New York.

Brian Tumulty has worked in the Gannett Washington Bureau since 1992, first as a national business writer and then as a regional reporter for newspapers in New York, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A native of the New York City borough of Queens, he attended high school on Long Island and college in the Bronx. He has four children and one granddaughter.

Fact Check contributors

Gary Craig's focus for much of the past decade has been on criminal justice issues. He has won regional, state and national journalism awards, including honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Headliners Awards.

Len LaCara is the exclusive enterprise editor for the Democrat and Chronicle, in charge of local news, sports and business. He also directs our political coverage.

Meaghan McDermott has been with the Democrat and Chronicle since 1998, and has come close to reaching her one-time goal of being assigned as a beat reporter to cover each of Monroe County's suburban towns and villages. Since 2006, her focus has been on the Town of Greece and the Greece Central School District.

Steve Orr has been a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle since 1981, and has covered a wide variety of local topics. At present Orr focuses on environmental issues. Contact: E-mail | Phone (585) 258-2386 | Twitter.com/SOrr1 | Facebook.com/SteveOrrROC